The heartbeat of this vital and dynamic Master Jet Base is Air Operations. Its pulse rate is measured by thousands of take-offs and landings each year. There are over seven miles of runway serving the station and transient military air traffic. The only way to really appreciate Oceana's tremendous growth and importance, however, is to look back into the past. Oceana was originally carved out of 328 acres of swampland in 1940 as an Auxiliary Airfield. Wartime growth pushed its status to a Naval Air Auxiliary Station on August 17, 1943 and by war's end the number of men and aircraft aboard had tripled. In 1952 Oceana was designated a Naval Air Station and the Master Jet Base concept was taking shape. By 1953 Oceana was an all-weather air station, and by 1957 it was officially designated a Master Jet Base. The longest runways in Hampton Roads and its location within the city of Virginia Beach, Virginia, near the warming currents of the Atlantic Gulf Stream, enable Oceana to operate when other airfields cannot. Over the years Oceana has grown to more than 16 times its original size. Today, it is a complex of some 6,000 acres and "home" for over 9,700 Navy personnel and some 12,300 of their dependents. Nine F-14 Tomcat fighter squadrons and eleven F/A-18 Hornet squadrons assigned to the Atlantic and Pacific Fleets are based at NAS Oceana. Three of the squadrons that train air crews and maintenance personnel are permanently stationed at NAS Oceana. Fighter Composite Squadron Twelve (VFC-12), performs Air Combat Maneuvering training flying the Hornet, Fighter Attack Squadron One Zero Six (VFA106) provides Hornet training and Fighter Squadron One Zero One (VF-101) supports Tomcat training. The station also has an excellent Search and Rescue (SAR) unit which flies the UH-3H Sea King helicopter. This unit provides rescue services to both the military and civilian communities. The largest employer in Virginia Beach, the air station has a gross annual payroll of over $600 million and spends another $156 million for goods and services.
Main
phone numbers: Commercial (757)444-0000 or
DSN 433-0000
Mailing
address: NAS Oceana, Virginia beach, VA
23640
Population:
8,634 active duty; 14,000 family members; 1,776
civilians
Housing: 48
officer family units; 108 enlisted family units; wait
varies; 3,573 unaccompanied personnel units (757)433-2195
Temporary
lodging: 212 visitor units (757)433-2574
Family
Service Center: (757)433-2912
Schools: None
on base.
Child
Care: Center for 85, eith-month wait; 60
approved homes 9757)433-3164
Health
care: Clinic. Appointments (757)314-7000;
Tricare (800)931-9501; beenfits (757)314-7130
NAS Oceana has a
large size commissary - (757)4332808-,
a large exchange, and a mall (757)425-4200. Recreation at NAS Oceana
includes .
